After a barrage of criticism resulting from its initial round of lawsuits, the RIAA is attempting to stem the tide of negative publicity by slightly altering their tactics. Now, before a lawsuit is filed, potential defendents will be contacted and given the opportunity to pony up some cash to make the problem go away, or argue that they haven't engaged in activities frowned upon by the RIAA.
Ars Technica: RIAA now to contact consumers before suing them
Heh. The RIAA has gotten too much flak about their blind suing of people, including grandmas and small kids, so they’re changing their tactics into something a bit more normal. Doing a bit of research before filing a suit isn’t a bad thing.